Arcade
by superalicat
Summary: The story takes place between episodes 20 and 21 of the second season, after Ritsu takes Mugi to the game center a few episodes before (which is mentioned a lot). The winter days episode in Season 1 is brought up, in which Mugi has a job (you'll find out why later). Okay, so maybe Japan's arcades are different from ours, but the K-On girls in an American-style arcade? Awesome!


Title: Arcade

Characters: Mugi, Ritsu, Mio, Yui, Azusa

Pairings: Not really any

"Oh, wow!" Mugi Kotobuki exclaimed as the five girls of the Light Music Club stepped inside the building. "It's even bigger than the other one!"

"Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?" Ritsu Tainaka answered.

"Ritsu, why are we at an arcade? Shouldn't we be doing our homework or something?" their dark-haired friend Mio Akiyama asked.

"I don't want to do homework," whined Yui Hirasawa. "This is way better."

"I'm just glad you didn't bring your guitar here with you," Azusa Nakano said, taking off her coat. "But why did you bring me along with you?"

"We're on a Light Music Club field trip!" Ritsu declared. "As the Light Music Club President, I brought you all here!"

"Don't we usually get assignments on field trips?" Mio asked.

"Your assignment is to have fun!"

"All right!" Yui screeched like a young child and took off, heading for some of the rides toward the back of the arcade.

Azusa ran after her, shouting, "Yui-senpai! Not so fast! You'll disturb everyone here!" Mio crossed her arms and sighed, but Ritsu took her by the arm and dragged her over to some of the games. Mugi wandered over to one of the rides, where a middle-aged woman was working the controls.

"Um…excuse me…would it be possible to get a job here?" Mugi asked the woman. She still remembered the job she'd taken last winter, working at a fast food restaurant. Every time she'd done something wrong, Mugi had felt worse and worse. Maybe getting a job here, at this super fun place, would be better. Mugi would be the perfect person to help others have fun at this magical arcade. Her eyes shone with excitement at the possibility. She'd definitely start working here right away!

But the woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but there aren't many jobs available here, and they're all taken." Mugi was crushed. Her heart sank to her winter boots and her eyes took on a dull and listless look. Even the woman noticed, and she hastily said, "Look, you seem like a nice girl, but there just aren't any jobs. All of the games can be used by yourself, and only people who have experience operating rides like this can work them. It's nothing personal, but arcades don't have many jobs available."

"Thank you anyway," murmured Mugi, walking away. Her head drooped and she walked over to a bench to sit down. As she leaned back against the wall that the bench was against, Mugi wondered if she would ever get a real job and have a fun time with it. The fast-food job had failed, and so had her dreams of working at an arcade. It just looked so fun, and wouldn't it be cool to tell someone she worked at one? Would Mugi's bad luck with jobs continue until she was an adult? Until she died? No, she couldn't think that far ahead.

Meanwhile, Yui and Azusa were on the bumper cars. Azusa was trying to steer around everyone and drive properly while Yui was spinning in circles, whooping her head off. Occasionally she would remember how to steer and would ram right into Azusa. On the other side of the arcade, Ritsu and Mio were playing air hockey. Ritsu aggressively smashed the puck whenever it came near her, trying to get it into Mio's goal. She would cheer loudly whenever it did, which wasn't very often. Mio did a great job of fending off the puck and eventually won the game. Ritsu snarled in frustration and vowed, "I'm going to beat you in the next one!"

A little while later, Mugi heard someone sit down next to her. Looking up, she saw Mio and a steaming mad Ritsu.

"I can't believe you beat me at FOUR games of air hockey!" Ritsu exclaimed angrily. "Mugi, she beat me four times!"

"Oh. That's nice," Mugi answered distantly.

Interrupting Ritsu before she could yell something like, "Nice?! That's not nice at all!", Mio asked, "Mugi, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Seriously, Mugi .What's the matter?" Mugi turned her face toward Mio, and Mio was alarmed to see that her eyes were filled with tears.

"I tried to ask for a job working here, but they said that there weren't any left! And I really wanted to work at an arcade!" Mugi buried her face in her arms, and Ritsu shot Mio a look that asked, Is she serious? Mio glared at Ritsu and gently patted Mugi's hair.

"Cheer up, Mugi. I'm sure you can find a much better job somewhere else."

Mugi's voice came out muffled. "But this is the second job I've had bad luck with!"

"Aw, Mugi," put in Ritsu. "Cheer up. How about we play a game and take your mind off of things?" Yes, thought Ritsu, let's play a game that I'm good at so that I can win for once!

Mugi lifted her head up to look at them. She hadn't started crying yet, but it was only a matter of time. "O-okay."

"Yui! Azusa!" Ritsu called, waving the two girls over. "The three of us are going to play Skee-Ball? Wanna join us?"

"Aww," complained Yui. "But Azu-nyan and I were going to try and do shooting games next."

"On second thought," Azusa said hastily. "I'll come with you." She trusted Yui with a gun about as much as she trusted a toddler with one, and it didn't even matter if it was fake. At least nobody could get severely hurt at Skee-Ball.

Five Skee-Ball games were open, so the girls could all play side-by-side. Mugi stood in the middle, in between Yui and Mio. Each girl got five balls to throw into the holes that were worth different points if you landed your ball inside them. On Mio's other side, Ritsu carefully aimed her ball, setting her sights on the hole in the very center, the one worth 100 points if your ball landed in it. She was going to make it.

"Ready…go!" Mugi called. Everyone swung their arms and threw their balls. Ritsu's flew into the air and almost landed in the 100 point hole…until it crash-landed in the hole at the very bottom, the one only worth 10 points. Mio's landed in one of the ones at the top that was worth 20 points, and so did Azusa's. Mugi's ball, however, landed neatly in the 100 point hole. And Yui…hers had bounced off the board completely and she was now chasing it around the floor to get it back.

Everyone reloaded and threw their second, third, and fourth balls. Mio landed one in the 100 point hole and the other two in the 20 point ones. Azusa got all three of hers in the 20 point holes. Ritsu landed all three of hers in the 10 point holes, much to her disappointment. Yui broke the arcade record by not landing any of her balls in any of the holes. And Mugi landed her three in the 100 point hole, one after the other.

They only had one ball left. Everyone inhaled, swung their arms back, and threw.

"YES!" exclaimed Yui. "I actually landed one this time!"

"In the 10 point hole," Ritsu, who had done exactly the same, grumbled. Mio, who had started late, was distracted by Yui's yelling and landed hers in the 10 point hole as well. Azusa's ball landed in the 20 point hole again, and Mugi's landed in the 100 point hole for the fifth time in a row. Now she was the record-breaker.

The final scores were this. In last place was Yui, with 10 points. Then came Ritsu with 50, Azusa with 100, and Mio with 170. In first place was obviously Mugi, with a whopping total of 500 points.

"I…won?" Mugi asked in amazement. Mio and Azusa patted her on the back in congratulations. Mio was honestly relieved that Mugi had forgotten about the whole job thing.

"Wow, Mugi, you're really good at games!" Yui said in wonder. Ritsu, meanwhile, dropped to her hands and knees.

"Please teach me your ways, Mugi-sama!" Ritsu exclaimed. Mugi smiled and then started laughing

"You guys are so funny sometimes," she said affectionately. For the rest of their time at the arcade, Mugi went around with Ritsu and Mio, trying to teach them how to play certain games, though Ritsu was already pretty good at crane games.

Later, the girls were all sitting around a table at the fast-food restaurant they always went to. Yui was stuffing her face with fries and talking at the same time. Azusa decided to teach Yui sometime that this wasn't very good manners.

"Ricchan, I can't believe-mmm-you and Mugi-chan went to an arcade together over the summer without me. Arcades are so fun!" Yui swallowed a mouthful of fries

"Technically, it was just a gaming center," Mugi corrected, taking a sip of her drink.

"And if I remember correctly," Ritsu said loftily. "Weren't all of you studying?" She said the last word as if it were dirty. Suddenly she stood up out of her seat, and to the entire restaurant, she announced, "SEE HOW MUCH BETTER IT IS WHEN YOU HAVE FUN?"

"…and that's why I'm not speaking to Ritsu anymore," Mio told Mugi that night on the phone.

Mugi giggled on the other end. "Don't worry, I'm sure you two will make up. But don't you think you smacked her just a bit too hard on the head. Wow, this really reminds me of last summer!"


End file.
